11,405 Miles to a Familiar Face: Heathrow to Auckland via Kuala Lumpur

The Long Way to a Familiar Face — Part One

Tomorrow I set off for New Zealand. Around 11,405 miles from London Heathrow to Auckland, via Kuala Lumpur, with Malaysia Airlines. Two flights, a change of aircraft and almost 27 hours between the scheduled departure from Heathrow and arrival in Auckland.

Today, though, the journey started with charging the car and thinking about the shopping.

That is the slightly odd thing about the day before a big trip. Part of your mind is already on the other side of the world. The rest is wondering whether there is time to cut the grass, get everything charged and make a cake. Well, my wife, my daughter and I made the cake!

The people at the other end

This all started with a fairly practical question: how could I make good use of some annual leave I had to use up? My first thought was an astronomy trip. Then that became an astronomy trip to the southern hemisphere. And then I thought: why not go the whole hog and catch up with my family in New Zealand?

What began as a way to use a few days off had become a journey to the other side of the world, with the prospect of southern skies and familiar faces at the other end.

I am really looking forward to seeing my cousins and my aunt. It has been 18 months since my last trip to see them, and this one has managed to feel both a long time coming and suddenly very close. Now that departure is tomorrow, the excitement is mixed with the usual tiredness and a little anxiety.

There is a sadness in it too. My wife cannot join me this time, and we always have such fun travelling together. We are both close to the family I am going to see, so I know there will be moments when I wish she were beside me, sharing whatever has just happened.

I am looking forward to the ordinary things as much as anything: sitting down together, catching up properly and having time for conversations that do not need to fit around a video call. It is a very long way to go for familiar company, and that is exactly why I want to go.

Heathrow, Kuala Lumpur, Auckland

The first leg is MH1 from Heathrow Terminal 4 on Monday 21 September, scheduled to leave at 21:35 and reach Kuala Lumpur at 17:50 the following day. Then it is MH145 at 21:30 on Tuesday, arriving in Auckland at 11:25 on Wednesday 23 September. Those are all local times.

On the timetable, that is 26 hours and 50 minutes from Heathrow departure to Auckland arrival, including a three-hour-forty-minute connection. The journey to the airport and everything after landing will add to that. And the actual distance flown will depend on the routes we take; 11,405 miles is the approximate route distance I am counting down to.

I will be heading to Heathrow by rail, which gives the journey a beginning before the first airport queue. There is something I enjoy about that gradual change from an ordinary day to being properly on the move.

At Kuala Lumpur, I am hoping for a straightforward connection, a chance to stretch my legs and a few minutes to take in where I am. By then I will have been travelling through the night, while the clock is telling me it is late afternoon. I am curious to see how that feels in practice.

A first flight on the A330neo

The aviation enthusiast in me has plenty to look forward to. The Heathrow leg is scheduled on an Airbus A350, followed by an A330-900 to Auckland. The second flight will be my first on an A330neo with any airline.

I have already spent more time than is probably sensible following aircraft registrations and trying to work out which individual airframes will operate the flights. It is an enjoyable puzzle, even if an airline can undo several days of amateur detective work with one aircraft swap.

Flying the two types back to back should make for an interesting comparison: the sound during take-off, the cabin atmosphere, the view along the wing and how comfortable I feel by the end of each leg. I am hoping for a brief cockpit visit on the ground if arrangements and the crew's workload allow, but that would be a bonus.

For now, all of that is anticipation. The actual experience can have its own post once I have flown it.

My body clock has other ideas

I have started trying to shift my body clock before departure, using an app to help me think about sleep, daylight and caffeine. Whether it is working is another question. I suspect Auckland will provide a fairly honest answer.

The neat plan on a screen still has to fit around real life. Earlier nights and earlier mornings sound simple until the day gets away from you. I am doing what I can, without expecting to step off two long flights feeling as though I have had a normal night's sleep.

That will be part of the story too: when the excitement carries me along, when the tiredness catches up, and which small comforts actually help.

Keeping a record without missing the trip

I want to document this journey properly, but I do not want filming it to become another job. I will keep things simple: my iPhone, a small microphone, a few photographs and notes while the details are still fresh.

I would like to remember more than the flight numbers. What did the airport feel like? When did it finally sink in that I was going? What was the first thing I wanted to tell someone at home?

There may be some southern-sky astronomy along the way if the weather cooperates. I would love a chance to look up at a different sky. But I am leaving room for cloudy nights, tired evenings and plans changing.

For now, there are still a few things to finish and a quiet meal together to look forward to before departure. I am excited about the miles ahead, very ready to see my family, and already aware of the person I will miss along the way.

Tomorrow: Heathrow. Then Kuala Lumpur. Then Auckland, and some very familiar faces.

Written before departure on 20 September 2026. Flight times and aircraft types are scheduled and may change. The cake photograph is our own pre-departure moment. Airport and aircraft photographs are credited archive images used under Creative Commons licences; they were not taken on this trip. The cover shows Malaysia Airlines A350-900 9M-MAC at Auckland in July 2022 and does not confirm the aircraft assigned to my flight.